City’s laws always vetted by public process

To the editor:

Your Sunday editorial, "Unheralded, City Council does its job," may have left readers with a false impression of how city codes and ordinances are adopted. It stated that "uniform codes" and ordinances are approved as part of the city's consent agenda. This is simply not the case.

The editorial went on to say this is how the city's "green" energy standards were adopted. Again, this is not the case.

The consent agenda is for the more routine items before the City Council such as simple special event permits or bids for city contracts. Proposed codes and ordinances appear on the discussion agenda and receive a thorough public vetting before ever being approved. In the case of uniform codes, they often receive a three-year national review and then are reviewed by local industry for the better part of a year. Codes and ordinances typically appear on the City Council agenda for a total of three readings over the course of several meetings and are also discussed openly by the city's Recommending Committee, which is a subcommittee of the City Council. Codes and ordinances can always be amended, but if so, they go through this same thorough public process.

The International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) received a similar intense review by a national code committee made up of public- and private-sector members, as well as review at the local level by Southern Nevada building officials and private-sector stakeholders. The Department of Energy has set targets of up to 18 percent for reductions in energy consumption to free us from foreign dependence.

It is important to understand that no new code or ordinance adopted by the city is ever just run through under the table. All are discussed as part of a public hearing process, giving anyone interested the ability to be heard at a variety of levels, and especially by members of the City Council.

Elizabeth N. Fretwell

Las Vegas

The writer is Las Vegas city manager.

Tips the scales

To the editor:

A woman has the right to protect herself.

I am a 58-year-old woman. I carry a Glock 26 handgun. I have a concealed weapons permit and I am a responsible person. I will never use my weapon to frighten, manipulate or threaten anyone. I will, however, use it to defend myself. This is my right.

I was infuriated by Tuesday's letter to the editor from Jerry Sturdivant. He said he has carried a concealed weapon for 40 years and served in the military and as a police officer. Yet now, because of the Connecticut school shooting, he wants to repeal every American's Second Amendment rights?

Fine. He can give up his permit and melt down his guns. But I will not.

Where will Mr. Sturdivant be when I am stranded on the side of a dark, deserted road, or walking across an empty parking lot at night, where will he be when an idiot home invader breaks down my front door? He will not be there to protect me. I will protect myself, and if more people were willing to do so responsibly, the bad guys would not be so sure of their bad selves.

As a woman, although I am confident and brave, I can easily be attacked and overpowered by a good-sized man. My weapon tips the odds in my favor and at least gives me a chance. I wish more women would undergo the training and carry a legal concealed weapon. If law-abiding citizens are prohibited from carrying a gun, taxes across America will rise tenfold. If only criminals and police have guns, we will need a policeman on every block, in every parking lot, in every school, etc. Ask any honest cop: In most areas, the criminals have more and better weaponry than our officers right now.

Disarming good people will be to the sheer delight of every criminal, drug cartel, gang and bully in our communities.

No, Mr. Sturdivant, I will not give up my rights.

Tony Pacini

Las Vegas

Money well-spent

To the editor:

In response to your Dec. 5 editorial, "Devil's Hole pupfish on the brink":

Every Devil's Hole pupfish lives in one deep spring in Death Valley National Park, within the Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge. This dazzling blue-hued desert fish avoided the Ice Age fates of its befallen neighbors, the mammoth and the saber-toothed cat, by adapting to the harsh conditions of one watery chasm.

The Devil's Hole pupfish shares a remarkable lesson about survival in a changing world. During years of research, we have learned more about how desert aquifers connect together; the impacts of water draw down; earthquakes in our region; and how animals adapt to extreme environments.

The plight of this small desert fish is internationally known, bringing visitors as well as critical revenue into gateway communities. In 2010 alone, nearly 1 million visitors to Death Valley generated $48 million of economic impact. Ash Meadows, the largest wetland in the Mojave, is visited by 67,000 people annually, generating $3.3 million.

We understand our resources better due to our visionary investment to save this imperiled species. The National Parks Conservation Association stands behind funding for the Devil's Hole pupfish, and for protections afforded to this remarkable species.

David Lamfrom

Barstow, Calif.

The writer is California desert senior program manager for the National Parks Conservation Association and vice president of the Amargosa Conservancy.